College basketball: John Rowe breaks down the South regional

The Record

Florida: The Gators deserve their overall No. 1 seed, with a school-record 26-game winning streak and the SEC regular-season and tournament championships. Billy Donovan’s team plays exceptional defense, especially point guard and SEC Player of the Year Scottie Wilbekin. Florida needs to get top scorer Casey Prather going again and needs to shoot free throws better (the Gators were 27-of-54 during the SEC tournament).

Ohio State: The Buckeyes rebounded from their midseason problems to win nine of their last 13 games. Aaron Craft and friends, who have wins at Wisconsin and over Michigan State, will embrace their rare underdog role. The sixth-seeded Buckeyes never were seeded lower than second in the last six years. Plus Syracuse, Ohio State’s potential second opponent, has been reeling for nearly a month.

Syracuse: Everything has been a struggle for the third-seeded and offensively challenged Orange since its 25-0 start. West Michigan is a dangerous first opponent, even though there should be a pro-Syracuse crowd in Buffalo, N.Y., and after that ’Cuse could draw Ohio State, Kansas and Florida or UCLA. Good luck with that, Jim Boeheim.

Ohio State vs. Dayton: The last of the six Atlantic 10 teams to earn a bid, Dayton probably should have been in one of Tuesday night’s first-round games. But that would have given the Flyers a home game. You have to be a Dayton fan to fully appreciate how much beating Ohio State, the most celebrated program in the state, in an NCAA game would mean to the Flyers.

Pittsburgh: The ninth-seeded Panthers lost their share of close games — remember the half-court heave by Syracuse’s Tyler Ennis? — so things are due to average out. Eighth-seeded Colorado, Pitt’s first opponent, lost its top player for the season, and Pitt still plays Big East-like defense that could rattle Florida in the third round. Beware of Pitt.

Stephen F. Austin over VCU: Fifth-seeded VCU has its share of NCAA upsets, so it must be on alert against Stephen F. Austin, which is 31-2 and hasn’t lost since Nov. 23. Like VCU, the Lumberjacks keep their turnovers to a minimum. Under first-year coach Brad Underwood, Stephen F. Austin wants to be this year’s Florida Gulf Coast. Beating VCU would be a good start.

College basketball: John Rowe breaks down the South regional

The Record

Florida: The Gators deserve their overall No. 1 seed, with a school-record 26-game winning streak and the SEC regular-season and tournament championships. Billy Donovan’s team plays exceptional defense, especially point guard and SEC Player of the Year Scottie Wilbekin. Florida needs to get top scorer Casey Prather going again and needs to shoot free throws better (the Gators were 27-of-54 during the SEC tournament).

Ohio State: The Buckeyes rebounded from their midseason problems to win nine of their last 13 games. Aaron Craft and friends, who have wins at Wisconsin and over Michigan State, will embrace their rare underdog role. The sixth-seeded Buckeyes never were seeded lower than second in the last six years. Plus Syracuse, Ohio State’s potential second opponent, has been reeling for nearly a month.

Syracuse: Everything has been a struggle for the third-seeded and offensively challenged Orange since its 25-0 start. West Michigan is a dangerous first opponent, even though there should be a pro-Syracuse crowd in Buffalo, N.Y., and after that ’Cuse could draw Ohio State, Kansas and Florida or UCLA. Good luck with that, Jim Boeheim.

Ohio State vs. Dayton: The last of the six Atlantic 10 teams to earn a bid, Dayton probably should have been in one of Tuesday night’s first-round games. But that would have given the Flyers a home game. You have to be a Dayton fan to fully appreciate how much beating Ohio State, the most celebrated program in the state, in an NCAA game would mean to the Flyers.

Pittsburgh: The ninth-seeded Panthers lost their share of close games — remember the half-court heave by Syracuse’s Tyler Ennis? — so things are due to average out. Eighth-seeded Colorado, Pitt’s first opponent, lost its top player for the season, and Pitt still plays Big East-like defense that could rattle Florida in the third round. Beware of Pitt.

Stephen F. Austin over VCU: Fifth-seeded VCU has its share of NCAA upsets, so it must be on alert against Stephen F. Austin, which is 31-2 and hasn’t lost since Nov. 23. Like VCU, the Lumberjacks keep their turnovers to a minimum. Under first-year coach Brad Underwood, Stephen F. Austin wants to be this year’s Florida Gulf Coast. Beating VCU would be a good start.